寤 (wù): (classical) to wake from sleep

Meanings

1 (classical) to wake from sleep
2 (classical) to become aware; to realize

Characters

寤

wù

to awake from sleep

Examples

窈窕淑女，寤寐求之。

Yǎotiǎo shūnǚ, wù mèi qiú zhī.

Awake or asleep, he longed for that virtuous lady.

Tips

history

寤 'to awake' is classical and not used alone in modern Chinese. It is best known from the Book of Songs line 寤寐求之. It survives compounded with its opposite 寐 (to sleep) and in 寤寐 (waking and sleeping; day and night).

register

Archaic and literary only, seen in classical poetry and etymology notes, not in speech.

Components

radical

宀 mián

roof; house

The roof radical 宀 sets the scene indoors, one wakes (or sleeps) under a roof, which is why this awakening verb sits in the house family.

semantic

爿 qiáng

split-wood plank; bed-board

Beneath the roof sits a sleeping-couch element built around 爿 (a board, the old bed sign seen in 床), with 吾 lending the sound, together: a person on a bed coming awake.